Apparatus for testing conductors



July 19, 1949. w. D. BOYNTON 2,476,278

APPARATUS FOR TESTING CONDUCTORS Filed Oct. 3, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR W0. BOVNTON A TTORNEV July 19, 1949.

W. D. BOYNTON APPARATUS FOR TESTING CONDUCTORS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 3, 1944 INVENTOR W0. BOY/V m/v Patented July 19, 1949 2,476,278 ABBARATIEIQRJDESTINGiGQNDUGTORS? wentwoi thiDf Bovnton, Woodhnook, Md.,, assignoi to Western Electric Company, Incorporated;- Nw York; Na- Y6, ahcorporation of-'New'York Anpii-cation Octobenfi, 1944;:Serial No.- SSE-96h ZTClaimS... (Cl. 1 7-5-183;) I

This invention-,relates to apparatus for: testing conductors, and. has: for its object the provision; oil-"new: and improved apparatus. for testing conduetors;

One app ratus, embody ng: the; inventmnsms... eludes means. for. advancing. an insulated con; ductor, means for flexing an insulatedconducton advanced by the; advanc ingv. means. and means forttesting anelectricallcharacteristicioflthecon: ductor-pas,itiisilexedl t v Agcomplete understanding. of! the invention. maybe obtained from thelfollowing' detailed dc.- scrifztion of a specific ernbfodiment thereof;vv when,r readjin conjunction .with the appended,drawings,,, mwhicmi Fig. 1 is a horizontal'sectional view ofv an, ape. paratus embodying the invention.. the. section having. been taken. aiongiine of Fig. 2;

Fig. 2 isauvertical. sectionall' View. taken: along. 1ine 2?2.-of Fig. 1;.

Fig. 3 is a .verticaL sectional .view; taken along, line 3-3f.of i" Fig. 4 is, an. enh'nrgedjv fragmentarm. verticall sectional view .takenialongline 4i-4..of .Eig. 1, and

Fig. 5 is, an. eiilirggerh. fragmentary, vertical sectional view taken along. line, 55-5201? Figs 7 Referring more in detailrtontheadrawings, there is shown therein'ran. apparatus. for. testing the. continuity. of' conductors? whilerthe, conductor-s:

are flexed'and'are placedlundertensionn 3d apparatus includes at flanged supply. drum in (Fig. .1) a.fiangedganditapered takeeun @dru-m L1,:

and faifiexer. [2Q positicned between the-drums. l andQLI The supplydrum. is, fixedly, pcsitioliedion, a shaft. l3fand' is.insulatedtherefrom by a. bushing I 8 lot electrical }-insu1-ating. material. The, shaft] 3"is .rotatahlymountedinbearings. l ie-i 4, which are supportedgby.standards. l1.-.| 1 formed.

of suitable electricalinsulating material. Ash-n1,

ring. assembly I 5.,- (Eig, {1) servesytouconnect electricall'y the shaft, l 3. and l. ant insuiatedqconduc-r tor, i6, .=which leads-to a..;test set. 20 of, standard; constructiomwhich. is ,designed-flto indicate an lack "of continuitw in, aficondilctcrv, being? tested.

Onetypelof a. coaxialicable which. can be: tested by. the apnaratuss. embodying, the invenetion] is. acoaxialf cable 21-. (Fig.1); whichzhas a. terminal ,1 22: from which projects, almost; 2.3,. electrically; connected, to an. end. 0L a central;

conductor; 21' of" thfilfiabla The. cable 111i also ,5

. to the flange-25s The unterminated endffi of the cabieis positioned ibetweerr the flange 25 and at U..-shaped clamp i30fisecu red tothe'flange, wheres by-.;the-:cah1e is secured to the-drum lIFby-thei'; flangeandxthe clamp't Tite -clamp nees-now clamp'vthe: unterminated end 24-positivelyto, theudruml0; b'ut'tiiez-sharp radius oftl'ie-hentflr'iz. flange 25: acts as a snubber forthe end of the? cable-and; with the -cIamp' serves-"to' securethe endut-inthelposition show-n in Fig; 5.

A ;clip 331 (Fig; 2)? serves to' connect one" en'di. off, .thEi'. central; conductor 2-1 to an conductor" 33??- which is electrically connected to the sha'ft -laf 'Dhns av the conductor H 'is connectedto the test,.-.

set f, 2-0.; through the -emp ess the conductor. 34?; the shaft J33 the 'sl'ip ring aissem'bivI55 and the? cured to a housing 36 formed of an insulated materials. The: plate t==is provided with bores Memay b'ezsecurel .imany of tire-bores 40-4-01;

11111141218 :secured in -timeshare 43; The pins 41 5; 46a: -116.241 server: to: mount grooved rollers i p1ate 35sn When-the :cable- 21 is advanced over the? grooved roliersri-ltaindi 52 -fr0m4 the supply? ass-itiis, advanced thereoverl Bwposi-tioning the pins-,-,- A-5 and-46 iii: different: ones: offthe: bfor'szi; 40-40; 4l-,41l; and 424-42}; respectively; the? tortuousnesssof theypaithg provided by: the roliers cambewaried; whereby;'t1re. r:1'egree 'of fleizing ariti the. amountlot tensiomplaced iupon Ethe cable 21-; as-itis-drawn thereover .ca nrbe varied;.

The take-up drum-1 He. (Figs. 2) t has openings File-5] extending across the: widths thereof't ami z-pr videcisiwithg mainoflbenteim flangeset l.-'-6 l).

(Rig; 2). forming open-ended'rslots; Bis-6'2; El'achsv of. the; flangeszfigl 7+6! r is designed itofsecure; awteri-Z 1 minaL-pf alcablertdmhe drumlHe This is new trated 2;,- iniwhich-rthezterminah 22mg;

slid through the slot 62 and is held against the interior surface of the drum II by the flange 6|. A collared portion 69 of the terminal 22 is held against the interior surface of the drum I I by the flange BI and cannot be drawn through the slot 62. A clip 63 (Fig. 2), through a conductor 68, serves to connect the post 23 to the take-up drum I.

The drum N (Fig. 1) is fastened to a shaft 64, which is rotatably mounted in bearings 65-65 mounted on standards 6666 made of electrical insulating material. A slip ring assembly 61 serves to connect the shaft 64 to an insulated conductor 16, which is connected to the test set 26. The test set 20 is provided with a cord TI having a plug I8 on the end thereof, which may be connected to a source of electrical power (not shown).

A circuit to the test set 20 is formed through the conductor I6, the slip rin assembly I5, the shaft I3, the conductor 34, the clip 33, the central conductor 21, the post 23, the clip 63, the conductor 68, the take-up drum II, the shaft 64, the slip ring assembly 61, and the conductor 70, whereby the test set '20 may be operated to test the continuity of the conductor 27. The test set 20 (Fig. 2), when energized from a. suitable source of power (not shown), serves to supply an electrical current to the conductor 21 and also serves to measure the amount of current passing therethrough. If no current passes through the conductor 21, the test set indicates that fact, whereby an operator of the device may be appraised that the conductor is defective.

The flexer I2 (Fig. 2) serves to open up any discontinuities in the conductor 2'! as the portion of the conductor having a discontinuity therein is tensioned and flexed by the fl'exer, whereby the test set 2|) indicates the presence of the discontinuity in the portion of the conductor being flexed. Thus, the discontinuity may be located.

A pulley II (Fig. 1) rigidly secured to the shaft 64 is driven by an electric motor 12 through a belt 13. The pulley serves to rotate the shaft 64 so as to rotate the take-up drum I and draw the cable 2| from the supply drum III through the fiexer I2.

In the operation of the apparatus described hereinabove the unterminated end 24 of the cable 2| is secured to the supply drum I by the flange 25 and the clamp 30, which snub the cable, and the clip 33 is secured to the adjacent end of the conductor 21. The cable 2| then is wound upon the supply drum I0 except for the portion of the cable adjacent to the terminal 22, which is guided over the sheaves 52, 53 and 54, as shown in Fig. 2, and is slid into One of the slots 62-62 in the take-up drum II to secure the terminal to the take-up drum.

The clip 63 then is connected to the post 23, the test set 20 then is operated to supply a current through the conductor 21, and the motor 72 is started, whereby the cable 2| is advanced from the supply drum I 0 and through the fiexer I2, and is wound upon the take-up drum II in even neat coils. After the cable 2| has been wound completely on the take-up drum II, an operator passes the ends of a tying cord (not shown) through the opening 51 and around the C0118 of the cable 2|, after which the ends of the cord are tied to secure the cable in its coiled position. The coiled cable then is slid off the tapered takeup drum II and the operation described hereinabove can be repeated upon another cable.

The apparatus described hereinabove also can be used to test both cables of a type having terminals on both ends thereof and cables of a type having a terminal on neither end. If a cable of the type having no terminals is tested, one of the unterminated ends thereof is secured to the supply drum by the flange 25 and the clamp 30 and the other unterminated end is secured to the take-up drum I I by a flange 55 and a clamp 66 formed on the take-up drum. The flange 55 is identical with the flange 25 and the clamp 66 is identical with the clamp 36.

If a cable of the type having terminals on both ends is tested, one of the terminals is slid into one of a pair of slots 32-32 (Fig. 2) formed in the supply drum l 6 and is secured to the supply drum by an adjacent flange 3 I. The flanges 3I-3| and slots 32-32 are identical with the flanges 6| -GI and slots 62-62, respectively. The other terminal is secured to the take-up drum II in a similar manner by one of the flanges 6|6 I The collars of the terminals ordinarily are connected to a conductor of the cable other than and insulated from the central conductor. But the circuit from the collar of the terminal on the takeup drum to the shaft I3 is broken since the shaft I3 is insulated from the supply drum II) by the bushing I8. Consequently, the fact that the collars of the terminals are in contact with the drums I0 and H whil the central conductor is tested does not interfere with the test of the central conductor.

The apparatus described hereinabove serves to test the continuity of conductors while the conductors are flexed and under tension, and does so in a rapid and facile manner. As described hereinabove, the elements of the flexer I2 may be adjusted to apply varied amounts of tension and flexing to cables drawn therethrough, thereby adding a large degree of flexibility to the apparatus.

What is claimed is:

1. In an electrical testing apparatus, a supply drum for holding a supply of an insulated conductor, a take-up drum for advancing from the supply drum an insulated conductor held by the supply-drum, a plurality of sheaves, means for mounting the sheaves in staggered relationship between the supply drum and the take-up drum to form a tortuous path along which the conductor is advanced, whereby the conductor is flexed and tensioned, a test set, and means including contactors on the supply drum and the take-up drum for connecting the ends of the conductor to the test set.

2. In an electrical testing apparatus, a supply drum for holding a supply of a coaxial cable, said supply drum being provided with means for securing thereto an end of a coaxial cable held thereby, a tapered take-up drum having means for securing the other end of the coaxial cable thereto, means for rotating the take-up drum to ad- Vance the cable from the supply drum to the take-up drum and coil the cable on the take-up drum, said take-up drum having a slot therein, whereby a cord may be tied around the coils of the cable on the take-up drum, a plurality of grooved rollers, means for mounting the rollers in a predetermined staggered relationship to provide a tortuous path for the cable as it is advanced to the take-up drum, whereby the cable is tensioned and flexed, means for varying said predetermined staggered relationship of the rollers, a test set for locating discontinuities in a central conductor of the cable, and means including contactors on the supply drum and the take-up drum for connecting the ends of the central conductor of the cable to the test set.

WENTWORTH D. BOYNTON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 245,567 Sawyer Aug. 9, 1881 284,138 McElroy Aug. 28, 1883 1,445,260 Adams Feb. 13, 1923 Number Number Great Britain Dec. 12, 1918 

